Nation in Focus

January 16, 2013

Mark Mulligan/Associated Press

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Washington State Department of Transportation avalanche technician Harlan Sheppard sits on the turret of one of two M60 tanks tucked into two locations along US 2 firing artillery shells at a mountainside near the Stevens Pass summit Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. Usually the work is done late at night or very early in the morning, temporarily closing US 2 while avalanches are triggered. On Tuesday, WSDOT decided they needed to take action in the afternoon because of high avalanche risk. (AP Photo/The Daily Herald, Mark Mulligan)

Mark Mulligan/Associated Press

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Washington State Department of Transportation avalanche technician Harlan Sheppard sits on the turret of one of two M60 tanks tucked into two locations along US 2 firing artillery shells at a mountainside near the Stevens Pass summit Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. Usually the work is done late at night or very early in the morning, temporarily closing US 2 while avalanches are triggered. On Tuesday, WSDOT decided they needed to take action in the afternoon because of high avalanche risk. (AP Photo/The Daily Herald, Mark Mulligan)